06/02/12 – 07/07/12

Core Fellowship Program of The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Of Other Spaces

robert mateo diago
with Willie Baronet and Cristella Medrano
home•less•bound

Terry Hays
Irreversible Change

An opening reception with the artists will be held Saturday, June 2, 2012 from 5:30pm to 7:30pm.

LARGE GALLERY
Core Fellowship Program of The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Of Other Spaces

Of Other Spaces is an exploration of the theoretically and socially bound term “space” through the work of a variety of emerging artists. Bringing together a range of new and previously exhibited work—including video, photography, collage, assemblage and installation—from seven current artists-in-residence at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s Core program; the exhibition interrogates the ways this well trodden subject matter is becoming increasingly relevant in contemporary art practice. Curated by critics in the Core residency, Sally Frater and Philip Kelleher, this exhibition will include the work of Miguel Amat, Anthea Behm, Jang Soon Im, Massa Lemu, Gabriel Martinez, Nicole Miller, and Clarissa Tossin. In an attempt to explore linkages in the disparate practices of these artists, the term “space” offers an amount of breadth and specificity. As contemporary practice is confronted with demands/refusals to engage the political, spatiality (in geographic, social, political and discursive terms) exposes an inescapable entanglement with the framework of the exhibition itself as well as the “politics” manifest in the content and form of work. Of Other Spaces offers an intriguing look at the work of Core artists through a provocation meant to engage a topic with both contemporary and historical grounding.

The MAC has a long history of supporting contemporary Texas art and artist residency programs. The collaboration with the Core Fellowship Program is a pivotal mile stone for continuing that same mission. In June 2011, we were proud to present Material Traces: Selections from Core 2011, the first exhibition located outside of Houston dedicated to Core residents. Of Other Spaces is the second in a series of three Core exhibitions presented by The MAC. We hope that you will join us in our excitement for the important role they currently play and their future as Texas artists.

SQUARE GALLERY
robert mateo diago
with Willie Baronet and Cristella Medrano
home•less•bound

The MAC is pleased to present home•less•bound, an exhibition by robert mateo diago with Willie Baronet and Cristella Medrano. Using a series of installations, sculpture and photography, r mateo diago, Baronet and Medrano create a comfortable environment to investigate our ingrained or inherit perceptions toward the homeless. These artists dig beyond surface ideas to initiate larger conversations about community, indifference and the important issue of homelessness.

Puerto Rican born artist robert mateo diago currently lives and works in Dallas, Texas. Primarily a self-taught artist, r maeto diago has a background in advertising, graphic design, curating and directing. His extensive training in design has informed and influenced much of his work. In addition to group shows, he has participated in solo exhibitions locally and nationally at Steve Paul Production Gallery in Deep Ellum, Ro2 Art Downtown and Kolok Gallery in North Adams, MA. r mateo diago is widely known for his use of assemblage, photography and typography.

Willie Baronet is an artist, professor and life/business coach living in Dallas, TX. In 2011, he earned an MFA in Arts & Technology from the University of Texas at Dallas, where he first exhibited artwork related to the issue of homelessness. Baronet has been buying and collecting cardboard signs form the homeless since 1993. His work has been featured in a number of group exhibitions including the 15th Annual “No Dead Artists” at the Jonathan Ferrara Gallery in New Orleans, LA and “INVASIONEN/INVASIONS” at the Galerie Carolyn Heinz in Hamburg, Germany. He is currently a member of the art collectives “In Cooperation With Muscle Nation” and “CircleWerk.” Baronet is currently teaching design courses as an adjunct faculty member at Texas Christian University.

Cristella Medrano is a photographer and native-born Texan. In 2010, she received a Bachelor of Arts in Arts and Performance from the University of Texas at Dallas. Cristella’s work with homeless environments is guided by a journalistic approach to photography. Her experience volunteering for Habitat for Humanity influenced her goal to capture spaces the homeless create in the absence of public alternatives. Medrano does not consider her photography to be ‘artistic.’ She simply shoots and edits in a way best described as “a small cut above natural” and keeps technical adjustments to a minimum.

A portion of sales from ‘home•less•bound’ will benefit S.A.F.E.
Learn more about their work to keep youth and young adults from becoming
homeless.

NEW WORKS SPACE
Terry Hays
Irreversible Change

Models for theatrical set designs, images from the comics of Frank Miller and pop up cards of the late 1970´s influence Terry Hays’ exhibition Irreversible Change. Hays views his sculptures as set design models for an unnamed theatrical tragedy. These models are used to describe natural disasters of unimaginable scale, such as the tsunami in Japan, the earthquake in Haiti and wind driven fires in California. Hays considers the unforgettable moment in time when those involved in these disasters faced the paralyzing realization that an irreversible change had suddenly occurred. The sculptures are intended to be icons and symbols for that exact moment, and stand as reminders to the fragility of life.

Terry Hays is an artist currently living and working in Dallas, Texas. Hays received his Bachelor of Science from West Texas State University, Canyon, Texas in 1970 and his Master of Fine Art from Texas Christian University in 1974. Hays spent much of his career as a professor at various universities in Canada and Texas teaching painting, drawing and scenic painting in the theater department at Southern Methodist University. Most recently, Hays participated in 5×5 an exhibition at the Arlington Museum of Art. He has also exhibited extensively throughout the DFW area with Ro2 Art, 14th Street Gallery with various group exhibitions at the Bath House Cultural Center, The MAC, and Dallas Contemporary. Terry Hays is represented by Ro2 Art in Dallas, Texas.

Thank you to exhibition sponsors:
Robert Bellamy
Ro2 Art
Starpower Home Entertainment